Several sightings of 'beautiful' rare white starling

Bird experts are on the fence about why this starling has white plumage

Bird watchers have been baffled by the appearance of a rare white bird in their town.

People in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, have been on the lookout for what is believed to be a starling with leucism - a type of genetic mutation which affects pigment in birds' feathers.

After spotting it in her back garden, Claire Roby, 32, said the starling was "so beautiful I couldn't even describe it".

But members of the Cambridgeshire Bird Club have debated if the bird was leucistic or had albinism, a condition characterized by a lack of melanin pigment resulting in white or pale plumage.

"I only saw it once, but I will be keeping my eye out to see it again," Ms Roby said

Ms Roby, who moved to the UK from South Africa in 2022, said: "I wasn't sure what it was.

"It was just a pure white bird amongst all the others.

"I've watched these birds every day for the last three years and that is the first time I have seen it.

"I am an avid bird watcher so the fact this is the first time I have seen it - and I always have my eye in the sky - it's quite incredible."

Dr Vince Lee, from the Cambridgeshire Bird Club, said the lighter coloured bird in the photo was "definitely a white starling"

Dr Vince Lee, from the Cambridgeshire Bird Club, believed the bird was leucistic rather than albino, but said it was difficult to tell from the photos.

"Albinos have pink eyes and tend not to survive long because the lack of pigment in the eye causes them to lose eyesight. It is much rarer in wild birds.

"The leucistic trait is caused by an inherited lack of pigment cells - melanin being the same chemical that gives humans brown skin tones."

He said research suggested about one in in 30,000 birds had either leucism or albinism.

Those who spotted it shared their sightings on Facebook, with some claiming to have seen more than one of the rare birds in the town.